internalize

American  

[in-tur-nl-ahyz] / ɪnˈtɜr nlˌaɪz /

especially British, internalise

verb (used with object)

• internalizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• internalized,
  past participle,  past
• internalizing
  present participle

1. to incorporate (the cultural values, mores, motives, etc., of another or of a group), as through learning, socialization, or identification.

2. to make subjective or give a subjective character to.

3. Linguistics. to acquire (a linguistic rule, structure, etc.) as part of one's language competence.

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internalize British  

/ ɪnˈtɜːnəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. Also: interiorize.  (tr) psychol sociol to make internal, esp to incorporate within oneself (values, attitudes, etc) through learning or socialization Compare introject

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• internalization
  noun
• quasi-internalized
  adjective
• semi-internalized
  adjective
• uninternalized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• internalizing
  present
• internalized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• internalize
  simple
• internalizes
  simple
• have internalized
  perfect
• has internalized
  perfect
• am internalizing
  progressive
• are internalizing
  progressive
• is internalizing
  progressive
• have been internalizing
  perfect progressive
• has been internalizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• internalized
  simple
• had internalized
  perfect
• was internalizing
  progressive
• were internalizing
  progressive
• had been internalizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will internalize
  simple
• will have internalized
  perfect
• will be internalizing
  progressive
• will have been internalizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of internalize

First recorded in 1940–45; internal + -ize

Explanation

If you feel anger, pain, fear or hurt but never show it, you internalize it — you keep it inside. If you think about the prefix inter- which always indicated something within, you have the meaning of the adjective internalize, "to keep or take something in." It can be used in either a positive or negative way. If you are a debater who internalizes a topic, then you know it inside and out. On the other hand, you're not doing yourself any favors if you internalize your guilt.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

internalize internalizes internalized internalizing

“When you start to struggle and you internalize … you find yourself going dark, and that’s a lonely place,” Roberts said Tuesday, before the Dodgers’ 7-6 win against the Rockies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

The result, she said, is that consumers may internalize economic anxiety more intensely than they did during earlier periods of high inflation.

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

To predict them accurately, the system has to internalize what coherent thinking looks like.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026

“They are unavoidable. You cannot internalize them and let them chip away at your self-worth.”

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 28, 2026

Because there are a myriad of such variations, it’s difficult for most players to internalize even a small portion.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Guided by previous research of spider brains, the scientists uncovered evidence of a "waste canal system" in the human brain that internalizes waste from healthy neurons.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2024

Jean-Baptiste plays a woman who doles out misery and also, crucially, internalizes it, giving the character a humanity and sadness that’s absolutely transcendent.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024

He only internalizes the doubt enough to let it fire him up.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

It's also a little bit like socially prescribed perfectionism, where one internalizes the need to be perfect thanks to perceived pressure from others.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2021

So in his family of origin man internalizes ideas of "right-wrong," "appropriate-inappropriate," "expected-unexpected."

From Humanistic Nursing by Josephine G. Paterson

Still, Clark waved her ring around while the young audience screamed in their collective hope that all the internalized misogyny would lead to the happy ending they were promised.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026

Though Village People singer and songwriter Victor Willis has denied the queer interpretation of the song many times over, one of the people who hasn’t internalized that historical correction is Trump himself.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026

Because internalized stress can potentially be addressed, the findings suggest an opportunity to develop targeted strategies that support emotional well-being and cognitive health in older adults.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 27, 2026

What drives the effect is conviction—belief internalized deeply enough to change behavior when no one is watching.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

When we sang those songs, we believed them, we internalized them, and we were ready to act on them.

From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry

Amazon, as it has grown, has built out its logistics capabilities, internalizing some of its shipping needs and offering services to its third-party sellers.

From Barron's ● May 4, 2026

“It ignored the young patients who would be in her clinic, exposed to her speech, and susceptible to internalizing ideas that may scar them for life,” they wrote.

From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2026

Europe is moving toward internalizing security costs and building fiscal capacity.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026

Even as I was coming out, I was still internalizing shame.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2024

The song B-I-N-G-O is an excellent example in which to practice internalizing the pitch since the singer has to clap the rhythm and silently think the pitch in their head.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin